Synopsis
In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.
A word from Tënk
Simon Plouffe's Forests is more than a purely cinematic experience: it's a powerful manifesto. This fascinating short documentary continues in the footsteps of his first film, Others' Gold, once again exploring the exploitation of natural resources and our complex relationship with the environment.
It's a film that could be described as demanding, with its more experimental and contemplative approach, but it must be so by its activist nature. It is demanding because it requires the audience to engage; an engagement necessary to comprehend all its subtleties.
It all begins with fine white particles on a black background, dark and intriguing images, almost unsettling. Innu voices rise, accompanying us in the discovery of a flooded forest. These whispers resonate with the history of the place through the towering trees that stand like ghosts in this haunted reservoir.
With its mesmerizing visuals and evocative sound design, Forests reads like a burning poem, a heartbreaking ode to the territory. The filmmaker immerses us in a mysterious world to illustrate the unique relationship a community maintains with its territory; a territory that has been taken from them by water and fire.
Ariane Roy-Poirier
General Manager and Programming Director
Plein(s) Écran(s)
